Jake Locker and the odd QB class of '11

Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker is chased by Minnesota Vikings defensive end George Johnson, right, during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)
— AP

Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker is chased by Minnesota Vikings defensive end George Johnson, right, during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)
/ AP

In Jake Locker's backyard, you'll find a chicken coop built by the Tennessee Titans quarterback.

The coop is home to 15 fowl, and they produce about 70 eggs per week.

Whether the Titans will end up with yolk on their faces remains to be seen.

Three years ago, Tennessee spent the draft's No. 8 pick on Locker, who is an impressive young man and athlete, but as a quarterback for the University of Washington, looked like he'd be a heck of a safety.

With a 5-8 career record, a 79.1 passer rating, and 16 touchdowns against 11 interceptions, Locker isn't yet bringing home the bacon to go with those eggs.

Then again, he's not Blaine Gabbert. And considering that he's part of quarterback class whose motto is " What's Up is Down and What's Down is Up," Locker is, if nothing else, fitting in.

Look at the class's top six, in the order drafted: Cam Newton, Locker, Gabbert, Christian Ponder, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick.

First reaction: Maybe NFL general managers aren't so smart after all.

The last guy chosen is off to the best start to his career, a reminder that when shopping for QBs, take the one who went to Nevada-Reno and received no other scholarship offers.

The top four, taken with Nos. 1, 8, 10 and 12, or a lifetime before Kaepernick went 36th to the 49ers, are a combined 35-65 as starters.

The fifth QB, Andy Dalton, who went to the Bengals 35th, joins Kaepernick as the only one sporting a career winning record. The class leader in games started, Dalton is 20-14.

Newton fancies himself Superman, exalting over an imaginary S on his chest.

He is run-pass marvel -- 1,500 rushing yards, 61 percent completion rate -- but in games decided by seven points or fewer since he and coach Ron Rivera aligned, the Panthers are an un-super 2-14.

Kaepernick is the best at showing off, and not because he kisses the biceps of his powerful throwing arm.

He went to the Super Bowl last year in only his 10th start.

His classmates would rather he'd knock it off. Save when he plays the mighty Seahawks, he's making them look puny. Newton is 13-21, Gabbert of the Jaguars is 5-20 and Ponder is 12-16 with nearly as many picks (29) as TDs (33).

Place and time matter. When Alex Smith joined the 49ers as a No. 1 pick, the franchise was a mess. Welcoming Kaepernick, meantime, was a head coach and ex-NFL quarterback in Jim Harbaugh. In addition, San Francisco's blocking and defense were top-drawer.

I wonder what the late Bill Walsh would've made of Locker, who in college reminded me of another Pac-12 quarterback in John Lynch, a Walsh protege. Good size and speed, strong arms and rugged styles -- Lynch and Locker also shared a baseball pedigree that got each drafted by a big league team.

But after starting out at Stanford as a quarterback, Lynch moved to safety. And without Walsh's vision for him, it may not have worked out. “He said, 'I know you have an opportunity to play professional baseball, but I’ve watched your snaps, and I think you can be a Pro Bowl football player,' ” Lynch said, via stanfordaily.com

Lynch made nine Pro Bowls as a safety.

Locker, for sure, has done well for himself playing quarterback. The 25-year-old could buy enough chickens and coops to supply eggs to all of Nashville.

But being accurate in the NFL is tougher than in college, and Jake's career completion rate at Washington was only 53.9 percent. When he ran away from college linemen and linebackers, which was often, the 6-foot-3, 231-pounder sometimes chose to slam into other defenders. Did so the final time he wore Huskies purple, against Nebraska.

Watching Locker now, unsurprised by his career completion rate of 55.6 percent, I still think he'd have made a fine safety.